Aiming for ‘intelligent talk,’ new talk show misses the mark

John Walsh joined the syndicated daytime talk-show fray a month and a half ago, vowing to bring “intelligent talk” to the period when TV advertisers think only stay-at-home moms, accident victims and those desiring a career in the medical transcription field are watching.

And though “The John Walsh Show” (KNBC, weekdays at 10 a.m.) has tackled the Sept. 11 anniversary and the Washington-area sniper attacks, it has proven to be much like the nighttime program he hosts, Fox’s “America’s Most Wanted”: a combination of public service and sensationalism.

A typical installment begins with a guest interview and videotaped segment involving some troubling aspect of domestic life, child safety or personal responsibility -- “Is Your Teen Depressed? We Can Help” and “I Want to Divorce My Child” were topics last week. Then another guest with the same predicament is introduced, and so on, until three or four have presented their tales of woe or uplift.

Walsh, who has traded in his “Most Wanted” leather jacket for a sport coat and open-collar shirt, plays the “Father Knows Best” arbiter of morality, praising “heroes” by saying how proud he is of them and invariably thanking them “for having the guts to come on this show.” He tells the less virtuous to straighten up and fly right.

Surely this is not pure grandstanding, given Walsh’s background as a crusader against crime after his 6-year-old son, Adam, was abducted and slain in 1981. But for all of its host’s sincerity, “The John Walsh Show” cannot escape the tawdriness that is a hallmark of daytime TV, often devolving into a bland freak show or pity party, a chance to thank your lucky stars that your life isn’t as messed up as the ones here.

Walsh also employs the oldest trick in the TV book, imploring viewers to stay tuned for “good information that you must know,” which, of course, comes at the hour’s end and isn’t necessarily worth the wait.

So much for “intelligent talk.”